Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr (born Richard Starkey; 7 July 1940) Ringo Starr is a British musician best known for being the drummer of The Beatles.

Childhood: Ringo Starr was born in Liverpool to mother Elsie (née Gleave) and Richard Starkey, who were both confectioners. Elsie and Richard separated when Starr was young and his father made little effort to visit him after, leaving Starr with 'no real memories' of his father. Elsie took on several jobs, before becoming a barmaid as she struggled to survive on Richard's support payments. When Starr was six years old he developed appendicitis, which caused him to fall into a three day coma. His recovery took twelve months. When he was discharged, his mother let him stay at home, causing him to miss school, meaning he was still illiterate at the age of eight. Starr nearly caught up with his peers academically after several years of twice a week tutoring from his neighbour, Marie Maguire, however in 1953 he contracted tuberculosis and was admitted to a hospital. During this time, the medical staff made an effort to stimulate Starr's motor ability, which led to Starr's first percussive instrument; a makeshift mallet made from cotton which he used to strike cabinets by his bed.

Starr went to Church of England primary school St Silas near his house, and then Dingle Vale Secondary modern school. Starr was often behind his classmates due to hospitalisations. After Starr's recovery from tuberculosis, he did not go back to school, choosing instead to stay at home and listen to music while playing along hitting a biscuit tin with sticks. Starr entered the UK workforce in 1955, briefly having a job at British Rail. However, Starr was let go from this job and was granted unemployment benefits. He then became a waiter on a day boat, serving drinks, but he quit the job with the fear that he would be subscribed to military service, thinking that the job would give the Royal Navy he was suitable for seafaring work. At his next job as an apprentice machinist, he met Roy Trafford who introduced him to skiffle, which Starr soon became a big fan of.

Musical Career: Starr was in a few bands before joining The Beatles, including Eddie Clayton and the Clayton Squares, Rory Storm and The Hurricanes and he drummed for Tony Sheridan. Starr joined The Beatles in 1962, replacing their original drummer Pete Best. John Lennon, McCartney and George Harrison, completed the band's line-up. Starr played his first show with The Beatles at a Horticultural Society dance at Port Sunlight on 18 August 1962. At this time, Beatles fans were upset at Best's firing, so they held vigils outside Starr's house shouting 'Pete forever! Ringo never!' Starr first recorded with The Beatles in September 1962. Beatles producer George Martin was not impressed with Starr at first, Starr stating that Martin thought he was 'crazy and couldn't play because I was trying to play the percussion and the drums at the same time, we were just a four piece band'. Martin replaced Starr with session drummer Andy White for the next recording session, which was The Beatles' first single 'Love Me Do'. Starr played tambourine on the track and maracas on the song's B-side 'P.S. I Love You'. This left Starr worried about his position in the band.

As of November 1962 Beatles fans had accepted Starr, who were now calling for him to sing songs and send him as much fan mail as the other Beatles members received, helping secure his position in the band. The Beatles became increasingly popular in England. Second single 'Please Please Me' went into the UK charts and an appearance on television show 'That Your Lucky Stars' gained them good reviews, causing to an increase in sales and radio play. The Beatles had become an international success by the end of that year, with a phenomenon called 'Beatlemania' spreading through the country and crossing over into America. An appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show gained a record breaking 73 million viewers.

The Beatles made their film debut in 'A Hard Day's Night', where Starr's performance received much praise from critics, who noted his humorous delivery as great part of the film. Starr won a Melody Maker poll against the other Beatles, after the release of the second Beatles film 'Help!', for his performance in the film. During their period of major success, Starr felt that his input into their albums were minimal, stating that he felt more like a session musician than a member of the band due to his inability to compose new material and the other members directing his drumming style. Starr sang lead vocals on a handful of Beatles songs, such as 'Yellow Submarine', 'With A Little Help From My Friends' and 'Octapus's Garden'. The Beatles split up in 1970, following Lennon's decision to leave as well as McCartney's.

Since The Beatles' demise, Starr has released seventeen solo albums, including 1973's 'Ringo' which was certified gold in the United Kingdom and Platinum in the United States and 1974's 'Goodnight Vienna' which was certified silver in the UK and gold in the US. Starr has also guested on many other albums as a guest drummer including John Lennon's 'John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band' and George Harrison's 'Dark Horse'. Starr's musicianship and contribution to music has been praised by both critics as well as other musician's such as Phil Collins, Steve Smith and Dave Grohl.

In 2014, Starr joined fellow band mate McCartney for an exclusive performance at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles he then went on to tour Canada and the US in the same year. In July he was involved in #peacerocks which was an anti-violence campaign and won a GQ award for his humanitarian work throughout the project. In 2015 Starr tweeted his fans the title of his 18th studio album Postcards from Paradise (released March 2015) which is said to be autobiographical.

Personal life: Ringo Starr married Maureen Starkey Tigrett in 1965, with Beatles manager Brain Epstein being best man. Starr and Tigrett had three children together, Zak, Jason and Lee. Starr bought Lennon's former home, Tittenhurst Park at Sunninghill in Berkshire, then moved his family there. Starr and Tigrett divorced in 1975, due to Starr's constant infidelities. Tigrett died of Leukaemia in 1994. Starr married actress Barbara Bach in 1981, whom he'd met on the set of the film 'Caveman' in 1980. Starr became a grandfather in 1985, following the birth of his son Zak's daughter Tatia Jayne Starkey. Starr has admitted that he has battled an addiction to alcohol for 20 years after the split of The Beatles and says that after the split it left him absolutely lost.